Dough-molding device



Feb. 14, 192s. 1,658,864

E. J. STERNBERG DouGH MOLDING DEVICE mmf@ ATTORNEY Feb, 14,`192s.

E. J. STERNBERG DOUGH MOLDING DEVICE Filed Nov. 30, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Feb. 14, 1928. 1,658,864

E. J. STERNBERG DOUGH MOLDING DEVICE Filed NO v. 50, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 N V EN TOR. JJ/faber 1111laggqqlggll/luglqnulli/:Ingramj 11111111111111111111111111lllIllll/llgllllllll lll! A TTORNEYS,

' Feb. I4, 1928. 1,658,864

E. -J. STERNBERG Doven HOLDING DEVICE Filedl Nov. 30. 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 j ,5. INVENTOR .J Jezzzefzg BY www f5@ ATTORNEY Patented Feb. lfl, 1928.

. orsi-ca ERNST J. STERNBERG, OF CHICAGO, LLNOIS.

IDOUGH-MOLDNG DEVICE.

My invention relates to improvements in dough molding devices, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

In the process of making bread, the various ingredients, such as flour, water, yeast, etc., are mixed in a mixing machine, the mixing process continuing until the dough is of the proper consistency. The dough is then dumped into troughs and allowed tostand until it is ready tor succeeding operations.

When ready, the dough is divided into ieoes, each piece constituting a loa't of l5 bread. In large bakeries this dividing is done automatically in dividing machines, but in small bakeries, the dough is cut by hand With a knife. The cut dough is usually shaped into balls insuch a manner that there is a skin formed on the surface of the ball which retains the gases arising in the dough. These rounded pieces of dough are allowed to stand 'foi-.a few minutes betore converting them into the shape necessary to drop them into the bread pans.

ln shaping the dough tor the bread pans,

it is first lattened so as to form a strip or sheet of dough. rlhis strip is then rolled into a long coil and in this operation, the layers of the coil are forced together so as to -cause the layers to adhere to each other, thus preventing the roll of dough from unwinding. The ends ot' the loaf are also shapedyso that when the bread is dropped into the pan, there is no evidence on the outer surface of the loaf that the dough has previously been wound up into a coil.

rIhe principal object ot the invention is to provide a,machine to simulate the hand operation just described, this machine being constructed so as to first flatten the piece of dough, and then to coil this piece of dough into a roll. 'From this point the dough is pressed so as to cause the layers of the coil to adhere to each other. The machine is constructed so as lto be operated by one man, and to this end I have disposed the intake hopper and discharge plate on the same side o the machine. vThis arrangement permits the machine tobe placed against the wall of the bakery. p

A further object of my invention is to provide a machine which is portable, thus permitting the device to be moved from place to place.

A'further object of my invention is to provide a machine which has novel means lor molding the dough after the strip of dough has been wound into a coil.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specilication, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, inrwliieh Figure l is a longitudinal section through the device,

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the device,

Figure 3 is a section along the line 3--3 of Figure l,

Figure 4 is a section along the line Liof Figure 3 AFifure 5 is a section along the line 5--5 of Figure 3,

Figure 6 is a plan view of a portion of the device,

Figure 7 is a side elevation of Figure 6,

Figure 8 is a section along the line 8-8 ot Figure 7,

Fi ure 9 is a section along the vline 9-9 of Figure l,

Figure l() is a side elevation ot a portion ot thedevice,

Figure 11 is a Section along the line ll-llof Figure l0, and

Figure l2 is a sectional detail view showing the means by which the belt may be adjusted.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a support or base l that is mounted upon rollers 2 to permit it to be moved from place to place. The base has a top l3, and Figures l and 3 clearly show how the top 3 supports the molding device.

The device itself comprises a frame t made up ot various parts now to be den scribed. A.t the topot the frame, dispose a dough-receiving hopper 5 between two casings 5a and thisk hopper conveys the dough to two sheeting rollers 6 and 7, these rollers being spaced a predetermined disauesUF-D Application led November 30, 1925. Serial No. 72,266.2

tance apart, and being rotated toward each other so as to cause the dough to be flattened, as shown in Figure 1, as the dough is forced between the two rollers. The rollers revolve in the direction indicated by the arrows, and the means for rotating the rollers will be hereinafter described.

The roller 6 is movable toward and away from the roller 7 and is received by the flanges 8 carried by the ends of the roller 7, see ,Figure 1. The means for moving the roller 6 consists of a frame 9 pivotally secured to the casting4 at 10 and carrying the roller 6. A thumb screw 11 moves the roller 6 toward or away from the roller 7 and holds the roller in adjusted position. Scraper knives 12 and 13 keep the' rollers 6 and 7 cleaned during the operation of the device, and guide the dough sheet in the proper direction.

vThe striploi1 dough, after passing between the rollers 6 and 7, drops down upon a serrated roller 14. This roller is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow shown iny Figure 1, and wraps the strip of dough into a coil. An idler roller 15 prevents the dough from being carried around with the roller 14. After the entire piece of doughv has been wrapped up into a coil, the weight of the coiled loaf will cause it to `fall down between a control roller 16 and an apron 17. These two parts of the machine prevent the roll from becoming unwound as it passes from the roller 14 to the conveying trough hereinafter described.

The roller 16 is adjustable toward and away from the apron 17, and this is clearly shown in Figures 10 and 11. The roller 16 is carriedby a U-shapedl arm 18, and the arm in turn is pivotally secured to the casting 4 at 19. A hand screw 20 is carried by the cast ing 4, see Figure 11, andis provided with an annular groove 21 for iding a finger 22. The finger 22 is carried y the arm 18 and therefore moves the roller 16 toward or away from the apron 17 when the hand screw 20 is actuated.

The dough, after passing between the roller 16 and the apron 17, drops down upon a conveyor belt 23. This conveyor belt cooperates with an adjustable plate 24, which, together with the side walls 24a, compress the dough to cause the layers to adhere to each Aother and also aids in molding the dough into a loaf. The conveyor belt 23 travels in the direction indicated by the arrow shown in Figure 1, and the rollof dough is carried thereby and is compressed slig under surface of the plate 24. After the dough leaves this passageway defined by the conveyor belt 23, the plate 24, and the walls 24, it drops down into a second passageway defined by the conveyor belt 23, the upper surface of the vplate 25, and the side walls tly by coming into contact with the 25a. In this way, I make use of the entire 'length of conveyor belt, and furthermore, I

provide a machine in which the discharge end is disposed at the same end as the hopper.

The plates 24 and 25 are adjustable so as to compress the dough to any desired amount. The means for accomplishing this is shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8. The plates 24 and 25 are connected to each other by means of parallel arms 26 and 27. The arms are pivotally connected to the casting 4 by means of shafts'28 and 29, and the arms are also connected to each other by.means of a link 30. A screw shaft 3l is connected to the arm 26 by means of a pin 32, see Figure 8. The screw shaft 31 is actuated by a handle At' the discharge end of the machine, I

dispose a knife 34 for severing the molded loatl 35 into two equal parts. These parts are received by a discharge plate 36.

The means for actuating the various rollers consists of a motor 37.V This motor is connected to a train of gears 38 and the gears in turn actuate the roller 7. The gears are shown in Figure 4. In Figure, I show the gears 39 disposed in the opposite side of the machine, these gears being connected to the rollers 6 and 7 and the teeth being of a sufiicient depth to permit the rollers to be moved toward and away from each other, and yet be operatively connected to each other. The roller 14 is connected to the rollers 6 and 7 by means of gears 40 and 41, while the roller 15 is connected by means of a' gear 42. In Figure 4, I show how the rollers 16 and 43 are operatively connected to each other and to the train of gears 38. The connecting means consists of roller chains 44 and 45 and sprocket gears. The roller 43 actuates the conveyor belt 23.

In Figures 1 and 12, I have shown means whereby any slack in the belt may be taken up, and at the same time the dough is pre; vented from falling onto the lower walls 25. The shaft 100 has secured to it a block or plate 101 which is disposed above and slides on the lower wall 25, and really forms an extension of the lower wall. The extension 101 has an edge` which is spaced slightly from the belt 23 on the roller 103 so as to clear the belt, but to be close enough to it to prevent dough from being squeezed between the belt and the extension. An arm 104 passes around the end of the roller 103 and is secured rigidly to the shaft 100. The shaft 100, together with the roller 103, is

adjustable horizontally b means of an adr justing bolt 105. When t e dough passes o1 from the upper portion of the belt 23, it is prevented by these extensions 101 from falling on the lower walls 25a. 'Whein however, it is desired te vary the tension of the belt, it may be done by means of the adjusting lll) titi

f bolts 105 which move the roller Aand the extension to the same distance so that the space between theseparts is always constant.

u From the foregoing descriptionv of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may bereadily understood. Pieces of dough o'il denite weight are fed into the hopper 5 one at a time and each piece is flattened and coiled in the manner described, and then passed on to the endless belt. Here it is moved forward while still in its coiled condition, the layers however tending to unite yunder the` pressure and movement, as stated. When the coil reaches the end of the belt, it drops down into the lower trough and is carried rearwardly, being cut by the knife and then dropped onto the discharge plate 36. In the molding` operation, the side walls, as stated, play an important part to cause the adherence of the layers so as to render the texture of the molded roll uniform. One might suppose that the ends of -the molded loaf would. be at, but such is not the case, 'for after the pressure is removed from the ends, these ends tend to round out so that the loaf has rounded ends and not flat ends. It will be understood that after the loaf is ejected onto the discharge plate 36, the layers have so adhered that the loaf will not unwind, but is in a condition for immediate baking in' an oven.

One advantage of this device is that it is continuous in operation and may be readily operated by one man due to the'fact that the hopper i and the discharge plate 36 are disposed on the same side of the machine.` The rollers are adjustable so as to form coils of various sizes and different weights. making use of a single endless belt to pass the loaf forward in one direction and rearwardly in the opposite direction, it obviates the necessity of a plurality of belts, and it ,also provides a molding machine which takes upcomparatively little room as .compared with the length of travel of the dough which is being molded.

I claim:

1. In a device of the type described, a

means to the lower dough compressing' means, said guiding means being movable with Said movable roller.

2. In a dough molding device, an endless belt having the major portions thereof disposed in horizontal planes, an adjustable plate disposed above the upper portion of the belt, an adjustable plate disposed below the lower portion of the belt, means for feeding a. coil of dough to the upper portion of the belt, means for causing the travel of the belt, thereby bringing the dough into contact with the adjacent plate, and means for guiding the dough into the space between the lower portion of the belt and the lower plate, and means for simultaneously adjusting the positions of the adjustable plates.

3. In a dough molding device, an endless belt having the major portions thereof disposed in a horizontal plane, a platedisposed above the upper portion of the belt, a plate disposed below the lower portion of the belt, means for feeding a coil of dough to the upper portion of the belt, means for causing the travel of the belt, thereby bringing the dough into contact with the adjacent plate, means for guiding the dough into the space between the lower Aportion of the belt and the lower plate, and means for simultaneously adjusting both plates with respect to the adjacent portions of the belt to the same extent whereby the same distance is maintained between the belt and the plates.

4. In a dough molding device, an endless belt, an u perpresser plate above said endless belt, a ower presser plate below said endless be1tmeans for spacing said presser plates the same distance from the belt, and means for simultaneously moving said presser .plates toward and away from said belt to the same extent.

5. In a dough molding device, an endless belt for conveying dough, a pair of pivoted arms, plates carried at the ends of said arms, one plate being disposed above the belt in parallelism therewith, the other plate being disposed belowr the belt in parallelism therewith, and means for moving said pivoted arms to vary the position of the plates with respect to the belt.

6. In a dough molding machine, an endless belt, rollers for actuating the belt, rigid means disposed between the loop of the belt for reenforcing the latter, upper and lower movable presser plates disposed parallel with the belt on opposite sides thereof, side walls extending from the sides of said presser plates to the face of the belt, means for delivering dough between the upper presser plate and the belt, means for conveying the dough from the upper portion of the belt to the lower presser plate, and means for simultaneously moving the presser plates with respect to the side walls.

7. In a dough molding device, an endless belt, rollers forE said belt at the ends thereof, said rollers being mounted on horlzontal axles, an upper presser plate above the upper portion of the belt, a lower presser plate below the lower portion of the belt, means for feeding dough between the upper ist moese/i presser plate and the belt, slidable means for sion disposed adjacent to the movable roller moving the axles of one of said rollers away to guide the dough, said extension being from the other roller to take up the slack movable with the roller and being spaced 10 in the belt, means for conveying the dough at a uniform distance from the roller in any 5 from the upper portion of the belt to the of its adjusted positions.

space between the lower presser plate and the lower portion vof the belt, and an exten- ERNST J. STERNBERG. 

